Wheelchair-bound Lib Dem peer barred from boarding near-empty bus by father with a pram

 
Barred from bus: Lib Dem peer Baroness Sal Brinton
Josh Pettitt29 April 2015

A Lib Dem peer who is wheelchair-bound today told how she was made to feel like a nuisance “inanimate object” after she was barred from boarding an almost empty bus.

Baroness Sal Brinton was told by a bus conductor to wait for the next number 24 from Euston station after a young father refused to move his pram, despite wheelchair users taking priority just after midday yesterday.

The Lib Dem party president, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and can only walk a few paces, said the father just turned his back on her and the bus conductor refused to even ask him to move his buggy.

Baroness Brinton, who had been on her way to party HQ in Westminster, told the Standard: “The guy just refused to cooperate and turned his back on me and the conductor refused to even have a conversation with him.

“The conductor told me there was another bus coming soon, but that sailed past while we were having that discussion. In the end they just closed the doors on me leaving the people at the bus stop frothing at the mouth with anger.

The bus, pictured by Baroness Brinton, after it drove off when she was not allowed to board

“I didn’t want him to fold up the buggy and take his child out, just move slightly so we could both fit. On the bus I did eventually get a buggy got on and everyone was very helpful and we managed to get both of us on.

“Frankly it was all about wanting something to happen. I felt like an inanimate object who was just getting in the way.

“There are enough barriers for wheelchair users as it is.”

Mike Weston, Transport for London’s director of buses, said: “I’m very sorry about Baroness Sal Brinton’s experience. We have spoken to the bus operator Metroline and they are investigating.

“Our guidance to bus drivers clearly states that wheelchair users are to be given priority access to the dedicated space on our buses even if it is occupied by a buggy or other passengers. Drivers are asked to use the onboard automated announcement system to make it clear when the wheelchair space is needed and, if necessary, to ask buggy owners to share the space, move or fold their buggies.

“As with many things about life in a busy London, we do ask our customers to look out for one another and to abide by our guidance. In a case where another passenger will not make space, the bus driver should explain the situation to the wheelchair user.

“If the next bus is not already there, the driver is under instruction to contact his or her garage so that the next bus can be notified to pick up the wheelchair user."

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